On July 13, 2025, Christian Dailey,Anthem 2.0’s lead developer in terms of rebooting the game, announced it was canceled. The writing was clearly on the wall, as just two weeks prior, a report confirmed EA was meeting to decide the game’s future. The announcement came from BioWare, but both companies were involved in thedecision to cancelAnthem 2.0(orAnthem NEXT, as it was called both).
Dailey cited two reasons for the cancellation of the project: the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to focus on makingDragon AgeandMass Effectthe best they can be. While the news overall was disappointing, the reasoning behind them can be understood. COVID-19 impacted much of the industry, and many more BioWare fans would not be happy if the newDragon AgeandMass Effectgames suffered. But, still, it seemsAnthem 2.0went to its grave too early.
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First, it’s worth discussing what was promised and what was received. Fans know thatAnthemwasn’t in development as long as many had been lead to believe. Whereas many thoughtAnthemwas in development for years, it was more like 18 months. The belief in BioWare Magic, or the belief BioWare could make magical content in a short amount of time, was the big downfall here, something that manyformer BioWare devs have criticized. There was a lot to pull apart here, from management issues to EA issues, but the truth behindAnthemisn’t a good look.
ButAnthemitself looked so good. Theconcept and customization of Javelinswent so deep that it immediately caught many eyes. Running off a ledge, jumping, and taking to the skies felt so satisfying—this core feature was so well put together. The Javelins themselves, despite a few flaws, were not what brought the game down. A lack of content, the use of Frostbite, a specific lack of endgame content, a real lack of live-service material, a second-rate story, bad loot, general clunkiness, bad communication on content, and more all contributed to its downfall.
But, the core concept—a live-service Iron Man simulator with a BioWare world full of lore, loot, and fun times—was hardly the fault ofAnthem’s downfall. It had a great core idea once it all came together, but not enough time in the world to do it right. The cancellation ultimately came as no surprise, but hadAnthem 2.0been able to address and fix these things, its success could have followed through. After all, games have achieved redemption before. No one believedCyberpunk 2077could after its disastrous launch, but it’s trending positively right now. There are fans who believed inAnthemthanks to its unique core concept; it wasn’t its core players who gave up on it.
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The Anthem Community is Still Alive Despite All Odds
It’s pretty much impossible to tell how active the game actually is, but eventually,Anthem’s servers will shut down. That will be the final nail in the coffin for a community that still loves the game. TheAnthemsubreddit is very much alive, with constant posts day after day. It’s certainly not the most active subreddit on the site, but there is some life in the game’s community still.
That’s with it in its current state; had BioWare and EA pushed forward withAnthem 2.0’s content, it stands to reason its community would be thriving instead of just getting by. Still, for a game that has no real future, it’s a remarkable accomplishment to retain even a remotely active community. Many may have expectedAnthemto just drop off the face of the Earth, but it clearly did not, instead lingering in the minds of many gamers and still fostering some community.
Anthem 2.0 – The Coming ‘Iron Man Simulators’ Will Fill The Void
Of course,Anthemin its short time made a mark with its Javelins and in-game flight. That stands out more than its faults, and it’s something other game companies have certainly taken note of. When features are popular, they tend to appear in other games.Soulslike games are a whole genrebased on the popular FromSoftware formula, while FPS games have been using other features for years. Right now, even, fans have seen a trend of roguelike and time loop games.
In the next few years, it seems like a safe bet that“Iron Man Simulators” working off onAnthem’s premisewill release. If, after one year, it seems clear that the cancellation wasn’t the best choice, then it’ll be certain once other games and companies cash in onAnthem’s core concept and promise.
Anthem 2.0was canceled on Jun 29, 2025.
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